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Stay on the lookout for live chats this year, every Tuesday and Thursday at noon MST. I'll be chatting with everyone to answer any and all questions.

On an otherwise quiet morning in the 'maternity ward', it looks like Mama Kestrel seems to have a deep down itch just below the wing surface and her head goes back and forth deep down. This could even be in her sleep, and has been going on for at least a few minutes and it's just before 9:00 Boise time.

Our handsome little male sits calmly atop those little treasures. It snowed here in Minnesota a few days ago and I wondered about birds here coping with the regression to the cold, but if they are anything like our lovely resilient little family they will pick up where they left off.

Ah, my precious little trooper!!!!! I was watching an eagle cam based here a month ago as the parent bird sat patiently on eggs while snow was in the nest. Our mama Kestrel is made of the same stuff... <3

I've been musing over possible reasons they look at the cam. Ours do that, too. Maybe there is a tiny but perceptible hum from the camera. There must be something to draw their notice, and the only thing I can guess is some kind of sound. Your guess is as good as mine! --Laura

I wonder if it's them seeing the movement of their reflection, perhaps. They're highly visual animals, so I wouldn't be surprised if seeing something move on the cam surface catches their attention for a moment.

Oh! That's a good thought, too! Although, come to think of it, I'm not sure how much of ours they can see--it's mounted behind a hole in a separate housing that protects it from rain and desert heat. Maybe light bounces off it periodically. I'll have to see if there is any correlation with time of day. :)

The camera is in the same place as last year, however we did cover some of the outside of it with a cone of plastic to prevent soiling. Perhaps the cone is interesting to look at, or makes for an odd shadow? Hard to say. Hopefully I won't have to bother them as much this year to clean the lens, however!